13 Project Management Principles PDF

# CE 327 Construction Methods and Project Management ## 13 Principles of Project Management and How to Use Them Written by John Terra | Updated on January 13, 2023 ### What is Project Management All About? According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project is "a temporary endeavor un...

# CE 327 Construction Methods and Project Management ## 13 Principles of Project Management and How to Use Them Written by John Terra | Updated on January 13, 2023 ### What is Project Management All About? According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project is "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." So, a project has a starting point and a finish, and the uniqueness stems from the idea that all parts of the project are meant to contribute to a stated goal that isn't an ongoing part of the company's usual operations. Projects require project management (PM), which involves applying the knowledge, skills, techniques, and tools to the activities necessary to meet the project requirements. Consequently, project management follows specific basic rules and project management principles designed to help managers lead project team members, define the project's scope, assess risks and roadblocks, deal with changes, and maintain communication with management and stakeholders. ### 13 Project Management Principles Every Project Manager Should Follow 1. **Define your objectives and goals.** This phase is an intelligent place to start because you should know why this project exists in the first place and what constitutes success or failure. The project manager, their team, and the clients should meet and ensure everyone's on the same page. Ideally, goals should be: * **Realistic.** Can this goal be met with the available resources and timeframe? * **Clear.** Do all parties understand what's expected? * **Measurable.** Does the project have a set of criteria in place to judge when the goal is met? 2. **Make a risk management plan.** Here is another principle that should be carried out before the project even starts. First, the project manager must figure out the project's potential risks. Although risk assessment isn't an exact science, managers can use historical data, knowledge, and experience from the team and the stakeholders to discover likely areas where the risk lies. Project managers can use tools like a risk register template to help collect this data. In addition, risk management plans should have responses in place to resolve the issue before it escalates into a problem. 3. **Define the structure of the project's organization.** Here's another PMP principle that needs to be acted on before things get underway. The project organization's structure is a framework that facilitates project activity planning, execution, and tracking. Project managers must create an organizational chart that spells out the project's hierarchy and the roles of every team member. Once the organization has been established, consider what procedures and guidelines the team members must follow. 4. **Define the project's deliverables.** Deliverables are unique, verifiable products, results, or capabilities to perform a service created to complete a phase, process, or project. For example, a deliverable could be a new software app, an in-house training class, or an overhauling of the organization's database. 5. **Define team roles and responsibilities.** Projects succeed when everyone stays in their lane and avoids duplication of effort. Therefore, someone should clarify the roles and responsibilities and establish boundaries. 6. **Establish a communication plan.** Constant, clear communication keeps everyone informed and on the same page. When everyone's talking, deviations and issues get spotted early and can be dealt with swiftly. Define who needs to know what, how that information will be relayed (meetings, regular e-mails, texts, or a mix of these) and how often someone will send these updates. 7. **Establish performance baselines.** Projects require project performance metrics to measure success. Performance baselines hold you and your team accountable. Therefore, you should always have the means to measure the various parts of the project and see if the measurables align with what you expected. 8. **Set priorities and milestones.** Priorities show you what the team should focus on, and milestones show where they are in the project's timeline. By establishing priorities and identifying milestones, project managers will know when they're on course and schedule. Additionally, team morale rises when you recognize milestone achievements. The project team is more motivated if there's a means of measuring progress. 9. **Develop a change management plan.** Change is the only constant; this is true in every aspect of life. So, a good project manager comes prepared with a change management plan. This plan keeps track of changes, specifies how changes are handled, and establishes an approval process. A good change management plan covers changes, delays, risks, and issues involving the project's scope, budget, and schedule. 10. **Devise an initiation and execution strategy.** Initiation involves the project's preliminary work that someone must complete before any other project activities can happen. Execution typically starts with a kick-off meeting to get things underway. Project managers use the kick-off meeting to share the project's plan and vision, delegate assignments to team members, and turn them loose on the project. 11. **Be aware of time and budget limitations.** Time and money are finite resources. Therefore, project managers should use project scheduling tools to establish a realistic timeline, factoring in variables such as vacations, holidays, corporate events, etc. In the same way, project managers should create a budget, including a margin for unexpected expenses. 12. **Develop a process of accountability and responsibility.** Great project managers empower their team members with a sense of responsibility and accountability, which pays great dividends in morale. When managers give team members responsibility for their work, it removes the burden of micro-management and allows them to work from their strengths and learn new project management skills. Both results ultimately benefit the project, the organization, and the employee. But managers must set up a means of accountability before giving team members individual responsibility. For example, managers should have tools to track project deadlines and task delegation. 13. **Be transparent.** Finally, project managers should create a system where all team members and other interested parties can quickly and efficiently access the project's relevant information. Project managers who want to develop or improve project transparency should make the project's data available to the entire team, let everyone see the big picture, provide good collaboration tools, and share calendars among relevant parties, including management and outside stakeholders, if appropriate. Project transparency removes guesswork and uncertainty and leads to better team and project results. Compiled by: ENGR. REYNOLD F. TORCEDO